WHAT IS MEDITATION?
What is the definition of meditation?
How do you meditate?
Is meditation for everyone?
Why can’t I sit still during meditation?
These are a few questions I have been asked before or have asked myself in the past regarding meditation.
Through my personal journey, I have found that the answers to these questions will definitely vary depending on the source you’re receiving this information from. I find that the deeper I dive into my own meditation practice & journey, the more I can create my own perception on this topic and also see what resonates with me and what doesn’t.
According to google; Meditation is a practice of mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state. It can be practiced by anyone and can be done anywhere.
I first learned about meditation through my yoga practice. It took me a while to understand the full concept of meditation and couldn't get myself to connect with this part of my practice for quite some time. I didn’t realize that my lack of understanding and lack of knowledge about this particular subject was preventing me from fully connecting and enjoying the journey and magic of it all. It wasn't until I got to travel to Bali, Indonesia at the end of 2022, that I dove a little deeper into finding what meditation really meant to me personally, and found out that there are infinite ways that I could integrate it into my life.
I remember crying right after my first meditation session during my 200-hour yoga teacher training in Bali. Our meditation facilitator guided us through different types of activities considered "active meditation,” and it was a true moment of liberation for many of us. I noticed some of the girls in the group start to cry almost as soon as the practice started. The emotions we typically release during meditation sessions can be due to many factors, one of them primarily being that we tend to unconsciously and consciously block out certain feelings or events in our lives, causing for these to be stored in our bodies. When participating in certain healing practices, such as active meditation, which can be done in many many ways (more on that later), our bodies tend to release some or most of these blocked emotions, causing you to feel all types of ways and most of the time ending in tears of liberation. This is not always the case, but just be aware that it can happen.
YTT GRADUATION CEREMONY {2022}
What is active meditation?
There are many ways you can practice meditation. I used to think the only way to meditate was the "traditional way,” which we are taught means; sitting down in complete stillness and finding a way to "clear the mind” completely from any thoughts etc etc… However, during my yoga teacher training, I had the honor to learn from a mentor that was a meditation facilitator. During that first meditation class, he shared with us about all the ways we could practice meditation if we found that sitting in stillness was simply not working out for us.
Dancing, knitting, gardening, walking, washing dishes/doing chores around the house, painting/drawing, watching a candle burn (also known as Trataka-candle gazing), basically anything we do that requires our focus and active motion can be considered active meditation. It’s about bringing your awareness and focus to the action of this single task, and then inviting mindful meditation to your daily routine.
I often sit in stillness during most of my morning meditations, but there are days when my body immediately lets me know that it is needing movement instead, and I honor this by starting my days with an active meditation or even a gentle yoga practice. Nowadays, I really try and prioritize meditating first thing in the morning, but that’s not always the case and I can feel the difference in my day and in my mood on the days I don’t make time for it.
Whether you prefer to sit in stillness or practice active meditation, you can start small. Perhaps you only meditate for 5 minutes a day, and that is okay. Perhaps you prefer to use guided meditations, and that works too. Maybe you feel more comfortable doing this laying down instead of sitting up, and guess what, you are free to meditate however is most comfortable to you! Isn’t that so wonderful. It doesn’t matter how you do it or where, you will begin to feel a difference in how you feel, think, and move throughout the rest of your day.
HOW TO SET UP A VIBE FOR YOUR FIRST MEDITATION:
* Create a comfortable space for you to set up your meditation
* Make sure you are in a quiet place to begin
* Use blankets/pillows/any extra support if you want to sit down or lay down
* Turn on an incense, burn some sage/palo santo or light up a candle to set up the vibe
* Turn off tv, music, put away phone & any other distractions
* You can use a guided meditation (free on YouTube or Spotify), or you can just focus on the rhythm of your own breath and allow it to be your guide
* Start with 5 minutes and then expand your time whenever you feel ready and more comfortable to do so
* Have a journal nearby in case you will like to write about your experience, or would like to journal about any thoughts, ideas, feelings, emotions, etc….
* Allow your mind to wander as many times as it wants to; and anytime you catch your attention elsewhere, gently bring your focus back to your breath and this will help ground you again
* You can try this every other day until it eventually becomes a part of your daily ritual & lifestyle
